Research
Summaries
BLS white-collar pay survey
now covers small firms
JOHN D.
Table 1 . Relative pay levels by size of establishment,
selected white-collar occupations in the national survey of
rofessional, administrative, technical, and clerical pay,
arch 1986
MORTON
Clericai workers and recent hires in professional and administrative positions typically are paid 10 to 20 percent more
in large firms employing 2,500 workers or more than in
small firms employing 50 to 999 workers. In contrast, the
pay advantage for fully experienced professionals in these
large firms is usually under 5 percent. (See table 1 .)
The national survey of professional administrative, technical, and clerical pay (PATc survey) in 1986 increased its
coverage of firms with as few as 50 workers. As a result of
the expansion, 156,000 establishments employing 33 .5 million workers were covered in 1986 (previously, the survey
covered 47,000 establishments employing 23 .3 million
workers) . Establishments in Alaska and Hawaii are excluded . The survey is conducted by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, but survey occupations and coverage, such as
establishment size and the private industries to be included,
are determined by the President's Pay Agent (the Secretary
of Labor and the Directors of the Office of Management and
Budget and the Office of Personnel Management) .'
In addition to the size of a firm's work force, skill and
experience also influence white-collar pay, as can be readily
seen from the survey results . (See table 2.) Engineers, the
survey's most numerous occupational group, illustrate the
effect of rising skill levels on pay: recent engineering graduates (level I) averaged $27,866 annually in March 1986,
while engineers responsible for highly complex engineering
programs (level VIII) averaged $79,021 .2
In contrast, skill levels can act as a source of pay uniformity for the same level of work among different occupations .
The following tabulation shows a relatively narrow (9 percent) spread separated the highest paid and lowest paid of
six equivalent work levels in the survey :
Annual salary level
Work levels
Attorney IV . . . . . . . . . . .
Director of personnel III .
Chief accountant III . . . . .
Accountant VI . . . . . . . . .
Chemist VI . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engineer VI . . . . . . . . . . .
.
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$63,933
63,855
62,880
61,546
60,796
58,883
John D . Morton is an economist in the Division of Occupational Pay and
Employee Benefit Levels, Bureau of Labor Statistics .
J ob d ase Nkatlon
Man salaries for estdrlishment size groups as a
percent of surveywide averages
2,500
All
so to 999
1000 to
2,499
workers
worker
or more
Accountants
100
too
96
98
99
too
101
101
107
107
102
Engineers I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
100
93
102
104
Engineers IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
100
98
103
100
establishments
Accountants I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
lu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accountants IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engineers III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Computer programmers I . . . . . . .
Computer programmers 111 . . . . . .
Computer programmers IV . . . . . .
100
100
100
100
100
workers
97
94
97
98
104
102
98
98
101
110
104
102
NoTE : Level I staff are trainees ; level III are experienced nonsuperosory staff workng on
conventional assignments ; and level IV are experienced staff working on more complex
assignments in a supervisory or nonsupervisM capacity .
Unequal market demands, however, can nullify this cluster
effect. For example, average pay for beginning engineers in
the survey was well above that of their accountant and
chemist counterparts .
Although the PATc survey focuses on salary levels at a
given time, its history permits a look at salary trends . Whitecollar salaries increased moderately between March 1985
and March 1986 in medium and large firms. Average
salaries for most occupations surveyed rose between 3.0 and
5.5 percent-in line with gains reported a year earlier. In
contrast, occupational salary increases averaged about 7
percent a year during the 1970's and more than 9 percent in
1981 and 1982 . However, the rate of increase has been
declining since 1982 .3
A detailed analysis of white-collar salaries and complete
results of this year's survey are included in the National
Survey of Professional, Administrative, Technical, and
Clerical Pay, March 1986, Bulletin 2271 (Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 1986) . The bulletin contains, for example, separate salary data by size of community and size of establishment .
El
FOOTNOTES I The Pay Agent has designated the industrial coverage as follows : mining; construction ; manufacturing; transportation, communications, and
public utilities ; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real
estate ; and selected services . The pay-setting role of the PATc survey is
described in George L. Stelluto's "Federal pay comparability : facts to
temper the debate," Monthly Labor Review, June 1979, pp . 18-28.
Table 2. Average salaries for selected occupations, national survey of professional, administrative, technical, and clerical
pay, March 1966
Number oft
Average
Accountants I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13,846
$21,024
Accountants III . . . . . ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46,228
Occupation and clap
employ-
Number of
~o
Average
annual
selorlea2
Engineers III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
145,165
$35,715
Engineers V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
111,913
50,769
Occupation and class
salarles2
Chemists and engineers-continued
Accountants and audibrs
29,311
Accountants 11 . . . . . ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23,733
8,227
1,397
Accountants IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accountants V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accountants VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1,756
Auditors I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auditors 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auditors III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auditors IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2,928
4,709
2,022
Public accounteMS l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11,606
11,595
8,897
4,275
Public accountants 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Public aocourdants 111 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Public accountants IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1,454
Chief accountants II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
475
230
Chief accountants III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ctnetaccountants IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25,554
31,143
39,293
49 ,231
61,546
20,468
22,714
26,633
32,116
47,963
62,880
80,409
Attorneys
1,377
Attorneys I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31,014
.
.
.
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.
3,199
4,347
3,500
1,847
587
39,635
50,119
63,933
78,396
101,169
.
.
.
.
6,914
22,990
18,323
4,798
21,242
26,36.9
33,580
41,304
Corthpcrterprogrammers l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Computer programmers 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Computer progrsmmersIII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15,974
38,540
46,996
20,832
24,558
29,324
Attorneys 11
Attorneys III
Attorneys IV
Attorneys V
Attorneys VI
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Buyers 1 .
Buyers It
fluyersIII
Buyers IV
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Program- and Wyatams analysts
Computer programmers IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Computer programmers V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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34,919
42,934
21,402
47,518
38,943
15,506
2,666
29,141
34,881
41,997
49,515
58,404
.
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103
350
624
520
22,240
25,288
30,605
38,206
Directors of personnel I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Directors of personnel II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1,849
2,082
39,817
46,328
3,580
22,539
systems analysts
Systems analysts
Systems analysts
Systems analysts
Systems analysts
l .
II
III
IV
V
21,524
9,492
Systems analysis VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
233
71,770
Personnel management
,lob
Job
Job
Job
analysts
analysts
analysts
analysts
I..
II .
III .
IV
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Directors of personnel III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Directors of personnel IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1,179
395
63,855
75,170
Chemists and engineer
Chemists I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chemists 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chemists III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chemists IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6,673
10,244
9,257
Chemists VII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
848
Chemists V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chemists VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engineers I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Englmm 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7,266
3,632
40,469
71,336
27,205
34,141
41,548
50,678
60,796
74,607
27,866
31,194
r Occupational employment estimates relate to the total in all establishments within scope of the
52,105
13,395
3,097
Engineers VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engineers V11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engineers VIII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42,677
58,883
68,602
79,021
Technical support
21,545
26,108
32,121
39,705
157,033
Engineers IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engineering technicians I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engineering technicians 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5,797
17,342
16,882
20,312
19,399
32,718
Engineering technicians III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engineering technicians IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32,193
35,397
Drafters I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Drafters II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2,982
12,102
13,054
15,854
Drafters IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , ,
Drafters V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24,371
14,362
24,652
31,004
Engineering technicians V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25,970
Drafters III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23,896
28,412
20,201
Computer operators I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10,704
13,727
Computer operators IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Computer operators V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8,059
1,260
24,550
28,986
401
873
791
16,636
22,896
27,009
36,023
12,517
Computer operators II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Computer operators III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37,530
25,698
Photographers I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Photographers 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Photographers III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Photographers IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . . . . . .
Photographers V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
331
104
17,219
21,524
31,584
35,094
Clerical
Accounting clerks I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accounting clerks II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accounting clerks III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accounting clerksIV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
133,183
79,215
22,354
14,687
17,954
21,872
File clerks I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fie cleft ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20,916
10,110
10,335
12,156
Key erdry operators l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Key entry operators 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
68,827
30,770
13,146
Messengers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9,842
12,276
File clerks III
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Person el dwks/as istants I . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Personnel clerkslassistants II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Personnel derkslassistants 111 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Personnel clerkstassistants IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purchasing
Purchasing
Purchasing
Purchasing
derks/assistants
derks/assistams
clerks/assistants
derkstassistants
I .
II
III
IV
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2,100
2,521
4,414
3,255
1,298
4,014
5,585
4,197
1,037
14,193
15,625
16,901
16,903
19,696
23,702
13,994
17,282
22,381
29,384
Secretaries III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Secretaries IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Secretaries V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
110,604
49,403
16,038
59,859
69,450
16,326
18,306
Stenographers l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6,811
18.374
Typists I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Typists II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25,125
12,842
12,584
16,854
General derksI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11,811
10,478
General clerks IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., .
33,472
19,322
Secretaries I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Secretaries II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sterggraphers11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General clerks 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General clerks III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5,648
59,359
65,101
21,152
23,839
28,051
21,739
12,730
15,500
end bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses . Pay increases-tut rat bonuses-under oostaf-
living clauses and incentive payments, however, are included.
NOTE : The following occupational levels were surveyed but insuffcierd data were obtained to
VIII ; computer pro2 Excludes premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends, holidays, and late shifts. Also warrant publication: chief accountant I and V; director of personnel V; inchemistare
photographer V,
survey and rot to the number actually surveyed .
excluded are performance bonuses and lump-sum payments of the type negotiated in the auto and
aerospace industries, as well as profit-sharing payments, attendance bonuses, Christmas or year-
grammar VI ; and personnel dmklassistam V. Published in 1986 but rat 1985
a new first level of purchasing clerk/assistant, and a newly added series of general clerks .
27
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW
October 1986 " Research Summaries
2 In the survey coding structure, the level designations among various
occupations are not synonymous: for example, the fast level of attorneys
equates to the third levels of engineers, accountants, and most other professional and administrative occupations . Classification of employees in the
occupations and work levels surveyed is based on factors detailed in definitions which are available upon request .
3 For a broader-based picture of wage and compensation trends in the
United States, see the Employment Cost Index, a Bt .s quarterly news release.
What happened to the
high school class of 1985?
SHARON R. COHANY
Almost 3 .3 million youths either graduated from high
school or dropped out between October 1984 and 1985 .1
The proportion of graduates who enrolled in college set a
record .z Graduates who did not attend college were typically
in the labor force, and their unemployment rate was 11
percentage points lower than the 36-percent rate recorded
for those who dropped out of high school and entered the
labor force. The differing labor market experiences for these
three groups highlight the fact that youth with educational
deficiencies typically encounter work-related problems
which may last for the rest of their lives .
Going on to college
Reflecting the declining school-age population of the
"baby-bust" generation, the high school graduating class of
1985 was smaller than those in recent years. A total of 2.7
million young people graduated from high school, down
half a million from the peak reached in the mid-1970's . (See
table 1 .) Despite the smaller number, the proportion of
seniors going on to college has been rising gradually over
the past few years. It reached a record 58 percent in 1985,
after hovering between 50 and 55 percent for most of the
1970's and early 1980's . (See table 2 .)
Sex. In recent years, college enrollment rates for men and
women just out of high school have drawn closer together,
eliminating the wide differences that existed in the early
1970's . By 1985, enrollment rates for men and women were
59 and 57 percent, respectively . The rate for men had returned to the high levels recorded during the early 1970'sthe tail end of the Vietnam-era's military draft-while that
for women was at its highest level ever .
Once enrolled in college, men and women have roughly
the same labor force participation rates-around 44 percent.
Despite substantial increases in tuition and other college
expenses, this overall participation rate has changed little
Sharon R. Cohany is an economist in the Division of Employment and
Unemployment Analysis, Office of Employment and Unemployment
Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics .
since the late 1970's . Grants, loans, family contributions,
and summer earnings have continued to enable a majority of
full-time students to stay out of the labor force during the
school year .3 (See table 3 .)
Race . A large gap still exists in the proportion of black
and white high school graduates who go on to college. In
October 1985, the proportion of enrolled black seniors was
42 percent, compared with 59 percent for whites . Despite
some improvement over the last few years, the black proportion was still well below their 46- to 48-percent range during
the 1970's .
Large differences by race also persist with regard to labor
force participation . Only 31 percent of the black college
enrollees were in the labor force, compared with almost
47 percent of the whites . One reason for this difference was
that a higher proportion of black students were enrolled in
2-year institutions, which are, on average, less expensive
than 4-year colleges and universities .4
Not going on to college
About 1 .1 million members of the class of 1985 did not
enroll in college. Their overall rate of labor force participation was 82 percent, somewhat lower than that prevailing
during the past decade . Participation rates for men in this
category were higher than those for women, and rates for
whites were higher than those for blacks and Hispanics.
The incidence of unemployment for these high school
graduates in the labor force has drifted upward during the
1980's . In 1985, about 1 of 4 were looking for work, compared with around 1 of 6 during the 1970's . Thus, despite
a shrinking youth population and less competition for entrylevel positions, young people who end their formal education with a high school diploma still have a hard time finding
jobs . In part, this may result from the increasing demands of
employers for better educated workers, given the higher
educational level of the work force and a surplus of college
graduates in some fields . s
High school dropouts
A total of 612,000 youths dropped out of high school
between October 1984 and 1985 . This was about the same
number as in the previous 2 years, but lower than in the
1970's, reflecting mainly the declining teenage population .
Male dropouts were much more likely to be labor force
participants than the women, a fourth of whom had family
responsibilities . One study showed that many of the young
women who dropped out of high school as sophomores in
1980 gave such family-related reasons as marriage or plans
to marry (31 percent), pregnancy (23 percent), and the need
to support a family (8 percent) .
Leaving school before graduation particularly affects the
labor force participation of black youth . While 72 percent of
the white dropouts were in the labor force, only 52 percent